Messaging
by suburbs
Summary: Kevin decides that the only way to get to know Macy without ending up in the hospital is if she doesn't know it's him. JONAS story.
1. Animals Playing Music

_Disclaimer: I do not own JONAS or YouTube. Or the Liberace of chimpanzees._

_A/N: I find myself enjoying JONAS more than I expected, but I really want Macy to have more of a role. This was the idea I came up with on how she could get to know one of them without causing bodily harm. I am still struggling with the fact that they used their own names – it makes it too much like writing about real people. _

Kevin was bored. Really bored. Somehow everyone else in his family had found interesting plans for Saturday night but him. Nick had a date, some guys from Joe's math class invited him to go see an action movie, Frankie was at a slumber party, and his parents were "rekindling" their romance. He was trying not to think about what that last one might entail. He, on the other hand, had nothing to do. He had already tuned all of his guitars, flipped through every channel in their deluxe cable package four times, and eaten all the cereal in the house. And it was only eight o'clock.

He considered playing solitaire on the computer, but he hated losing a game when he was the only one playing. But maybe he could find something to do on his computer – like replying to posts on the Jonas site. It wasn't that entertaining, but at least it made someone happy. Or at least he thought it made the fans happy. Sometimes they didn't seem to get what he was saying, which was why Nick and Joe liked to review his comments before he put them up. But his brothers had abandoned him, so they would just have to deal. He switched on the computer and noticed that Stella was logged on.

Score!

He immediately began typing, "Hey, Stella! I'm bored. Entertain me!!!!"

The little box showed that 'stylemaven' was typing. He looked at the message and frowned, "Sorry, it's not Stella. She's out at her Grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary party."

Kevin wrinkled his nose in confusion. "Then who are you?" He typed.

"A friend. They needed someone to watch her baby cousin because the sitter flaked at the last minute. But the baby is sleeping now."

"That's nice of you." Kevin wrote, briefly wondering why Stella hadn't asked him to babysit. He was good with kids. He considered it might have something to do with the time he watched her fish, but he still maintained that there was no way he could know they would eat themselves to death.

"Well, she's a really good friend, so I was happy to help. She is always there for me."

Kevin nodded in agreement before remembering that the person couldn't see him. "Stella is awesome!" He responded. "But why are you on her account?"

"It must log in automatically. And I didn't want you to think she was ignoring you."

That made sense. "Thanks."

Kevin wasn't sure what to do now. He didn't want Stella's friend to think we was desperate for someone to talk to, even if it was true. Then he noticed another message.

"Do you go to Horace Mantis?"

"Yes. Do you?" Kevin typed back.

"Yup. Are you in the marching band?"

"?" Kevin was known for his random comments, but that one confused even him.

"Your screen name – otterwithatrumpet. I thought maybe you were the guy in Stella's history class who plays the trumpet in the marching band."

"Oh! No, I just like animals with musical instruments."

"Hmm… like seals with horns?"

"And monkeys with cymbals."

"And chimpanzees with drums." This made Kevin smile. Most people gave him weird looks when he mentioned his fascination with musical animals, but whoever this girl was, and he was assuming it was a girl, she seemed pretty cool. And now he really wanted to see a chimpanzee play the drums. There had to be a YouTube video of that somewhere.

"Baby is crying. Gotta go. Have a great night!"

Kevin was disappointed that the conversation was over. It wasn't every day that you got to talk to someone who could take the otter with a trumpet concept to the next level. Without really thinking it through he typed, "Do you have an account? Can I add you to my buddy list?"

Kevin stared at the screen waiting for a response. Either she had already left to go take care of the baby, or she thought he was a creepy stalker type. He hoped it was the first one, but with his luck, she was already texting Stella about her weird friend. So much for not appearing desperate.

He tried to distract himself by watching animal videos, but even the Liberace of chimpanzees couldn't cheer him up. And then he saw a flashing light on the bottom of his screen. He clicked on the box and grinned.

Someone named 'agirlforallsports' had sent him a buddy request. He figured it had to be Stella's friend. Or at least he hoped it was. He accepted the invitation and sent her a message. "Is that you?"

And then he winced because 'you' could be anyone and not specifically the 'you' he meant. Now she was going to think he was an idiot.

"Yes, I'm me. The me who used to be Stella but is now herself."

Kevin literally laughed in relief. She was awesome. For the first time all night he stopped to wonder who she might be. He really didn't know many of Stella's friends besides the crazy girl who kept maiming him with sports equip…

Kevin froze mid-thought. The screen name.

It had to be her. Stacy or Casey? No, he thought it was Macy.

Freaky fan girl and cool chimpanzee chick were the same girl! He remembered Stella trying to convince them that they would like her friend if they could get to know her, but he had blown her off figuring no girl was worth the bruising and concussions she caused. And once again Stella was right; he did like her, at least from the safety of his home computer.

"Are you there? That sounded stupid, didn't it? Somehow I always manage to say or do something dumb."

Kevin could picture the dejected look that must be on her face right now. He had seen it so many times in the hallway after she had hit him or his brothers with something. And he didn't want her to feel like that when he was enjoying talking to her.

"No! It made perfect sense. You're you, on your account instead of you on Stella's account. And I'm still me."

"The person who likes music and animals."

Kevin smiled and thought about what to type next. Then he heard a door slam and Joe shout, "Hey, Kev, I'm home!"

He didn't want Joe to come find him messaging Macy. He knew that would lead to teasing and somehow Macy would end up embarrassed. And he didn't want that. So he quickly typed, "That's me! But I have to go. Hope to talk to you soon."

He quickly logged off before she could respond. He could hear Joe heading up the stairs, so he quickly grabbed his phone and sent Stella a text. "Don't tell anyone I'm otterwithatrumpet! Will explain later."

He trusted Stella. If he asked her not to say anything, she wouldn't. Because he liked talking with the normal Macy, and he worried if she found out who he was it would be over. She would go back to the spastic menace. For the first time in a long time, he wished he had more time alone, away from his brothers. It was going to be tricky to keep this a secret.


	2. Sports and Jane Austen

_Disclaimer: I do not own JONAS or Pride and Prejudice._

_A/N: This is sort of a filler chapter. Thanks for the feedback so far. _

_Dedication: It is Written, applepips16, MissNata13, Loved-Invention, LittleRedOne, Wolfdog-Aleu – my own support system. _

It had been three days since Kevin had his little chat with Macy, and he was starting to wonder if they were ever going to be on-line at the same time again. He only logged on when his brothers weren't around, and she never seemed to be available then. But as he sat at his desk in front of a blank document that was supposed to be his English essay, he saw a notice that 'agirlforallsports' was sending him a message.

"Hi, Mr. Otter. Played any trumpets lately?"

Kevin smiled. "Nope. But I did watch a video of a piano playing chimpanzee. Not as good as drums would have been."

"Really very little could live up to chimps on drums."

Kevin thought that she might be teasing him, but he wasn't sure. Either way, she was totally right. Maybe the video of the oil painting elephants, but really it would be a close call. But if he wanted to get to know her better, he should probably mention something other than animals.

"What's with your screen name?"

"I just love sports." She typed back.

Kevin already knew that she loved sports, but he wondered why she played all of them. He was pretty sure he had seen her in a uniform for every team and club sport the school offered. He wasn't even sure how that was possible. And Stella said Macy was good at all of them. A little like Nick with instruments.

"All sports?"

"Pretty much – football, soccer, bowling, archery, lacrosse. I haven't found one yet I didn't like."

His foot still ached a little from the bowling ball she dropped on him earlier in the week. He was so thankful that Joe had taken the bow and arrows away from her. Kevin kabobs weren't his idea of a good time.

"Do you play them or just watch?" He thought that was a good question even though he already knew the answer because he wasn't supposed to know.

"I like watching sports, but I love to play them. I'm much better on the field than in the hallways."

Kevin winced. He remembered Stella asking how someone so graceful and athletic could be so klutzy. He wasn't sure what to say, so he just typed "?"

"I somehow manage to make a fool of myself daily."

"It's high school. Everyone feels like that. Except maybe Stella." And Joe, Kevin thought to himself. Well, his brother did make a fool of himself daily, he just didn't care. Kevin was pretty sure Joe enjoyed the attention.

"Not like me. I get so nervous around these guys at school I act like an idiot. It's like a Three Stooges movie."

Kevin laughed because that was the perfect description for Macy around JONAS. He appreciated her sense of humor, even if he felt bad for her. Trying to lighten the mood he responded with "Are you Larry, Moe or Curly? I think I would want to be Curly, except with hair. I don't think I'd look good bald."

"I manage to channel all three at once. Not pretty."

"What does Stella say?" He knew that Stella had been trying to help Macy out, but it hadn't seemed to make much of a difference.

"To relax and pretend that they are just like any other guy at school."

It would be awesome if she could do that. Then he could hang out with her without ice packs and bandages. She kept typing. "I've tried. My mind just goes blank and the next thing I know something goes wrong. I'm thinking of applying for the restraining order for them. Pretty pathetic, huh?"

"No. I get it. Too bad the guys can't get to know the real you because you seem pretty cool."

There was a long pause, and Kevin wondered if he had said something wrong. He hadn't meant to freak her out, but he didn't like when she put herself down, even though up until a few days ago he would have been the first to agree with her.

Finally she answered. "Thanks."

Kevin didn't realize you could have awkward silences over messenger, but he was experiencing it right now. He wasn't sure what to say next. Fortunately she solved the problem for him.

"How is your week going?"

"Not bad. I'm supposed to be writing an essay for English, but I don't know what to say. Why do they make us read all these old books? I don't get it." Kevin was vaguely aware that he was rambling.

"LOL. What book?"

"Pride and Prejudice. Chick book."

"Such a guy thing to say. You are a guy aren't you?"

He had almost forgotten that she didn't know who he was. "Yup."

"Pride and Prejudice is awesome! They may dress and talk differently but it is still relevant."

Kevin rolled his eyes. Was she serious? The book was boring and none of it made sense. "Really? Are your parents stressing about marrying you off?"

""Yes, and we are losing our house to my obnoxious cousin next week."

He was pretty sure she was joking with him. He hoped she was, anyway.

"I'm kidding."

"I knew that." He typed quickly.

"Sure you did."

"I did."

"Whatever. The book is about guys with attitudes, people trying to help their friends and family but making mistakes, crushes and heartbreak and flirts. Just like high school but with better clothes."

Kevin began to write a sarcastic message, but something about what she had written struck a chord. He guessed that once you got past all the stupid manners and rules, the characters were sort of like people now. Sometimes people who didn't know Nick thought he was snobby because he didn't smile that much and could be quiet around people he didn't know. And he'd met lots of girls like that Lydia chick. And that sleazy officer was a little like the quarterback who dated one girl while hitting on Stella.

"That actually makes sense."

"I have my moments."

At that moment Kevin saw a message from Stella pop up on the screen. "Kevin Lucas, why is Macy messaging me about my friend the sweet, amazing guy with a funny screen name? Is this why you didn't want me to tell anyone about otterwithatrumpet? What are you up to?"

Crap. He knew it was too good to last. He quickly sent a message to Macy. "Thanks for the help with the book. I've got to go. Talk to you later!"

She sent him a quick response. "You're welcome. Have a good night!"

He glanced over at Stella's box and saw she was still typing. "Because if you are playing some sort of joke on her, I will be very disappointed. I expect better from you. I know that your mom taught you…"

Kevin logged off, essentially ending the virtual lecture. His phone rang seconds later.

"Hello."

Stella's voice boomed out of his phone. "Your mom taught you better manners than that. And don't cut me off. I am very serious here. You don't just go play with a girl like that."

"Calm down, Stella. I'm not playing a joke. Geez, have some faith in me." Kevin said, sounding offended. "And how did you even know that I knew who she was?"

"I didn't know for sure until right now." Stella sounded a little smug, which was annoying. And he wasn't sure why he was getting yelled at if she hadn't known he knew it was Macy. "Why are you talking to her?" Stella asked warily.

"Cause you were right. She's cool when she isn't acting like a scary fan girl."

Stella paused before answering. "What exactly is your plan here, Kevin?"

"Plan? There's no plan. I just had fun talking to her when she was at your house Saturday."

Stella sighed. "And how do you think she is going to feel when she finds out it was you?"

"I don't know. Does she have to find out? Can't we just chat and be friends on-line?" Kevin asked. 'Where I'm safe and she doesn't have access to sporting equipment." He wasn't sure why girls always had to make things more complicated. "Or maybe once she gets to know me she won't be so weird around me in person."

"You're going to have to tell her." Stella used her bossy voice. It was like his kryptonite; he pretty much always did what she said when she used that tone. She gave Nick the puppy-dog eyes, she dared Joe, and she bossed him. It was just how things worked.

Kevin sighed. "Fine. But not yet. Give me a few more days."

"You have until Friday. And after that there will be repercussions. Most likely involving polyester." With that, Stella hung up. Kevin stared gloomily at his computer screen. He was either going to have to tell Macy who he was or risk looking like a disco throw-back.

Polyester didn't breath and it really itched. So he was going to have to tell her.


	3. Foul Ball

_Disclaimer: I don't own JONAS._

_A/N: Is three chapters in one day obsessive? Probably. This is why I write one shots!_

He was pretty sure that the concussion was his fault. But he couldn't help it. He had been watching her from a far for several days, and she was adorable – the long chocolate brown hair, the sparking eyes, the infectious smile. He was trying to be inconspicuous about it, but somehow Stella always caught him staring and then glared at him like he was committing a felony because apparently she didn't trust him with her best friend. So he figured he had better lay low and stop looking at Macy in the hallway, which was fine because he really wanted to see her in her natural environment out on the field.

So he went to her softball game.

At first it had gone very well. He sat in the first row of the bleachers in a baseball cap and sunglasses, and no one seemed to pay any attention to him. Macy was amazing on the field – Stella hadn't done her justice. At the end of the fourth inning, she had already hit a triple and a single and was on her way to pitching a no-hitter. Kevin had only taken his hat off for a minute, but on her way to bat, she noticed him. She froze and her eyes went wide.

He remembered her walking up to the plate and getting ready to hit. But then nothing until he woke up in the hospital. According to the people in the stands, a wild foul ball had caught him right in the temple.

"Hey, I think he's waking up!" Joe exclaimed.

"Should we get the doctor?" Nick asked.

Kevin just groaned. His head ached, and his brothers were really loud. His eyes fluttered open and he squinted, adjusting to the light. "Where am I?" He asked.

Joe and Nick exchanged worried glances. "In the hospital. Do you know who you are?"

"Kevin Lucas. Why am I in the hospital?"

"Macy hit you with a softball. How many fingers am I holding up?" Joe asked making the peace sign.

"Two. But I would have known that if I was blind cause you always hold up two." Kevin grumbled. "Is Macy okay?"

Nick looked confused. "Why wouldn't she be okay? She wasn't the one hit in the head with a ball. I'm going to go get the doctor."

Kevin rolled his eyes as he looked around for his phone. "Joe, do you have my phone?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Can I have it? I need to call Stella." Kevin replied. He grabbed his phone from his brother's outstretched hands and quickly located the number he needed. "Stella? Where's Macy?"

"Kevin? Is that you? Oh, my gosh, are you okay? Do you know who you are?" Stella babbled.

"I'm Kevin. Joe is holding up two fingers. I'm fine." Kevin said quickly.

"Joe always holds up two fingers," Stella scoffed.

"I know. What's up with that," Kevin replied before remembering the reason for his call. "Is Macy okay?"

Stella sighed. "Honestly?"

"Yes."

"Not really. She's really upset, but she won't talk to me about it. She's sitting in front of her computer waiting for otterwithatrumpet."

Kevin's heart fluttered a little at hearing that Macy wanted him. They had had a few more chats since Stella interrupted them, and he had really enjoyed her. They had a lot in common, and he appreciated her cheerful outlook on life. But he hadn't known if she looked forward to their talks as much as he did, or if she was just passing time. And she had never once asked who he really was.

But now she needed him and he was stuck in the stupid hospital. He looked up at his brother. "Joe, I need to get out of here. Can you go make that happen?"

"Kevin, you were unconscious for twenty minutes. You probably have a major concussion. They're not going to let you just walk out of here." His brother argued.

"Please, Joe. It's really important." Kevin pleaded.

Kevin watch Joe struggle for a moment before saying, "Fine. I'll try, but I can't promise anything."

As soon as Joe exited the room, Kevin spoke back into the phone. "Stell, what do I do? Should I try and log on and talk to her on the computer? Or should I come over and tell her I'm not mad."

"And that you're her mystery friend?"

"Yeah, that too."

"I don't know. I've never seen her like this," Stella admitted.

"Well, she knows that you know who otterwithatrumpet is, right? Can't you just ask her if she wants him to come over? Offer to call or something?"

"You know what?" Stella said, like Kevin hadn't said anything. "What if I just offer to call otterwithatrumpet for her?"

Kevin shook his head in disbelief. Sometimes he wondered if his friends and family ever really listened to anything he said. That was one nice thing about Macy – she had always understood what he was saying. Or typing. But either way, she got him.

"Sure Stella. Great idea." Kevin said with a trace of sarcasm.

"Okay. You try and get out of the hospital, and I'll call you back when I know what she wants."

Kevin found that as long as he moved slowly, he could stand up. Driving was obviously out of the question, but he could get Joe to drive him. He only did that in emergencies because his brother was a scary driver, but this qualified. He glanced at the clock on the wall impatiently, wondering what was taking his brothers so long. Two minutes later, Joe and Nick entered followed by a guy in a white coat who looked like he was about twelve.

"Where do you think you're going, Mr. Lucas?" The man asked with a fake heartiness.

"Can I go now?" Kevin replied.

"You took a hard blow to the head. We need to run some tests before we release you."

Kevin waved his hand impatiently. "Can't I come back in a few hours and do the tests? I just need to go see someone."

Joe and Nick looked confused. "Who exactly do you need to go see?" Nick asked slowly like he was talking to a child or a crazy person.

"Macy," Kevin snapped.

"Since when do you talk to Macy?" Joe asked. "And do you think that's such a good idea. I'm not sure you can handle any more blows to the head right now."

The doctor narrowed his eyes. "Is someone abusing your brother?"

Kevin groaned. "No! No one is abusing me. This girl gets nervous and clumsy around us. But she is also sitting in her room alone feeling guilty about hitting me with the ball." He looked at his brothers before saying, "Which was obviously an accident. So I want to go talk to her."

The doctor looked down at the paperwork in front of him. "You're 18. It's unusual, but you can sign something saying that you are refusing treatment, and we would have to release you. But you would need to come back and get the tests done to be safe."

"Great!" Kevin said with relief. "Where do I sign?"

"I don't think Mom and Dad are going to be very happy about this," Nick observed.

"They'll understand," Kevin insisted. "Joe, can you go get the car while I sign the papers?"

"I still don't get why we're rushing out of the hospital to get to some girl you barely know," Nick said.

"Because she gets chimpanzees playing the drums and Pride and Prejudice and she still watches cartoons on Saturday mornings," Kevin said distractedly as he sent Stella a text asking where he should go next.

Nick looked worried as he replied, "That ball must have hit you really hard!"


	4. Closed Doors

_Disclaimer: I do not own JONAS._

_A/N: Thanks so much to the people who reviewed the story. I was nervous about writing in a new fandom, especially since there wasn't a lot of material to work off of yet, but you were all very kind and supportive. I hope it is not too rushed._

"So tell me again why we're rushing over to comfort the girl who put you in the hospital?" Nick asked.

Kevin sighed. He might as well just tell them the truth because honestly his head hurt too much to try and make up a believable lie. It would be the 'attracting bees' thing all over again, and he'd just end up looking stupid and telling them the truth anyway. "Look, Macy and I are friends, okay, and I'm worried about her."

"Since when have you two been friends?" Joe asked with obvious confusion.

"Saturday," Kevin said simply.

Nick looked over at Joe and raised an eyebrow. "And what happened Saturday, Kevin?"

"Everyone else was gone and I tried to message Stella. But it wasn't Stella; it was Macy on Stella's computer. And we've been talking all week except she doesn't know it is me." Kevin explained.

"Who does she think it is?" Nick asked skeptically.

"I have no idea. I never told her my name, and she never asked."

Nick gave his oldest brother a penetrating look, "You're not messing with her, are you Kevin? Cause that's not cool."

"No!" Kevin said indignantly. "She's really great when you get to know her. She 's funny, and I don't know if you've noticed but she's hot."

"I hadn't noticed," Joe said with a smirk. "I'm usually too busy ducking for cover whenever she's around."

Kevin glared at his brother.

"Hey, is this the right house?" Nick asked as Joe pulled the car into a driveway, trying to distract his brothers. Kevin looked down at his phone and back up at the house in front of him.

"This is the address Stella sent us."

"So what's the plan, Romeo?" Joe joked. "Do you want us to wait for you?"

Honestly, the last thing Kevin wanted was to have this play out in front of his brothers. He loved them, but if it went wrong, he would be hearing about it for months. He sent Stella a quick text asking if she would drive him back to the hospital if he needed a ride. He was relieved when she said yes.

"Thanks, but I think I'd rather do this by myself. How about you two go run interference with Mom and Dad?" Kevin asked. He knew his parents were not going be to be thrilled that he checked himself out of the hospital to go see a girl. Honestly, he couldn't blame them. It probably wasn't his brightest move ever, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time. When his brothers didn't respond right away, Kevin added, "Stella's here. She said she would take me back to the hospital when I'm done."

Nick and Joe exchanged a worried glance before nodding. Kevin gave them a grateful smile and opened the car.

"Hey, man, good luck in there," Nick said. Even though Kevin hadn't said it out loud, both of his brothers knew there was more to this than comforting a friend; he obviously liked this girl a lot.

"Thanks," Kevin replied gratefully. "I think I might need it."

He stood in the driveway and made sure they were really gone before turning and heading towards the front door. He rang the doorbell and waited nervously for someone to answer. He heard footsteps and then the door swung open.

Macy was still in her softball uniform. Her face was splotchy and her eyes were red and puffy. Before Kevin could say or do anything, Macy let out a squeak and slammed the door. He stood on her doorstep in shock, grateful that the door hadn't hit him.

He thought that maybe once she got over the surprise of finding him in front of her house she might open the door again and let him in, but five minutes passed and he was still standing outside. So he rang the doorbell again.

"Who is it?" Kevin heard Macy's muffled voice through the door.

"It's still Kevin," he answered.

"I'm really sorry about hitting you with the ball," Macy yelled without opening the door.

'I know you are. I'm not mad." Kevin yelled back.

"Oh," Macy said sounding relieved. "Great. Go away then."

"What?" Kevin said in surprise.

"I said, go away!" Macy repeated. She opened the door a crack and peaked out at him. "Kevin, I practically killed you today. You and I need to stay as far away from each other as possible, so just leave." And she slammed the door shut.

He frowned. This wasn't going like he had hoped it would. And now his head was pounding from all the yelling. He sat down on the doorstep and put his hands in his head. He was contemplating giving up and calling Joe to come back and get him when his phone rang.

"Where are you?" Stella demanded. "Macy is back upstairs in her room crying."

"I'm sitting outside. She won't let me in because she's afraid she's going to hurt me."

Stella paused. "She does have a point. I'm not sure how many more blows to the head you can handle. You were already a little spacey to begin with."

"Hey, that's not nice." Kevin said. "I understand most of what's going on." When Stella didn't respond, he added, "Just let me in. Maybe we can sit on the couch or something. How much damage can she do with couch cushions?"

"Knowing Macy, you'll end up suffocating," Stella muttered more to herself than to Kevin. "Fine. I'll come down and let you in. I'll just tell her that otterwithatrumpet is here and wants to see her in the family room."

"Thanks, Stella."

A few minutes later, Stella opened the door and gestured for Kevin to come inside. "Okay, she's in the family room," Stella whispered pointing to the right. "Just be nice. She's really upset."

Kevin nodded nervously and walked in the direction that Stella had indicated. As he neared the family room, he could hear Macy sniffling. As soon as he stepped into the room, she looked up.

'What are you doing here?" she asked angrily, wiping tears off her cheek. "You're not supposed to be here. Didn't I tell you to go away? And where's otterwithatrumpet?"

Kevin swallowed nervously. "See, Mace, the thing is, I'm otterwithatrumpet."

Macy just stared at him with a blank look on her face. "Of course you are," she said sounding almost defeated. And then her eyes started to well up with tears again. "What was it, some kind of joke? Were you laughing at me the whole time?"

"What! No!" Kevin exclaimed. "Why do people keep asking if this was a joke?" he muttered to himself. He was genuinely offended that anyone would think he would do something like that.

"I don't know," Macy said sounding angry again."Maybe because it is the only logical reason someone would want to get to know the person who injures them on a daily basis." She paused for a moment before adding, "Unless you're a masochist. You're not are you? Because despite how it might seem, I'm not into that."

"What?" Kevin burst out. All of a sudden it dawned on him what she was implying. "No!" He squeaked. Clearing his throat he tried again, this time lowering his voice in an attempt to sound manly. "No! Not a masochist."

"Well, then it doesn't make any sense," Macy insisted.

Kevin swayed a little and blinked his eyes to try and refocus. His head really hurt, and this conversation was not going as he had planned. "Can I sit down? I'm not feeling that well," he finally said.

Macy's eyes widened and she began to babble. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Here, sit down." She stood up and stumbled against the coffee table in her haste to free up a seat for Kevin.

"Macy, relax. Just sit back down. There's plenty of room for both of us." He glanced over at the huge sectional sofa. "And several monkeys playing the cymbals too," he added trying to lighten the mood.

She gave him a weak smile and sat back down, as far away from him as she could get. He sighed and settled onto the couch. Somehow he needed to make her understand what had happened – how much he had enjoyed talking to her. "Look," he said, "when we first started talking I didn't know it was you. And then when I figured it out, I realized how much I liked chatting with you so I kept doing it. It wasn't a joke, and I never meant to upset you."

"Why didn't you tell me who you were?" She asked quietly.

He had been hoping he would be able to avoid that question. "Honestly?" She nodded. "I really like the regular Macy. She's funny and smart and cute." Macy blushed at the compliments. "But JONAS' number one fan sort of freaks me out."

Macy looked indignant for a moment, but then her eyes focused on the large purple knot on Kevin's forehead. She let out a sigh and scooted towards him. She reached out and gently brushed her fingers against his bruise. "That's fair, I guess."

Kevin's eyes widened and his heart started racing at Macy's touch. She gave him a sad smile and pulled her hand back. He was still focusing on the feel of her fingers on his skin when he heard her groan and say, "It totally sucks that it's you."

He blinked. "Huh?"

"It's just my luck that the guy I've committed to staying away from and the guy I want to spend time with and get to know better are the same guy," Macy announced, sounding frustrated.

Kevin grinned at her. "You want to get to get to know me better?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Of course I do. Well, not Kevin Lucas the rock star, but the guy I was messaging all week. Him I want to spend time with. But I can't because it's not safe."

He couldn't believe what she was saying. They both wanted to spend time together and get to know each other better, and here she was telling him it couldn't happen. There had to be a way.

"What if we're just really careful – remove all blunt objects. I think if you spent time with me, it'll be okay. I'll just be a regular guy, and maybe you'll be able to just be yourself around me," he pleaded.

She looked hopeful. "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you again."

He looked at her warm, brown eyes and smiled. "I think you're worth the risk."

She smiled back and they both began to lean in towards each other. And banged noses.

"Ouch!" Kevin exclaimed involuntarily.

"I'm so sorry!" Macy cried, reeling back. "See, there's no way this can work."

Kevin wasn't giving up that easily. He reached for her hand and pulled her towards him. "Macy, relax." He let go of her before placing a hand on either side of her face. He looked her in the eyes and said, "Just stay still, okay?"

She nodded. He used his hands to gently tilt her head, leaned forward and kissed her. At first her entire body was rigid, but he could tell the exact moment when she stopped thinking and just kissed him back.

And kissing her was way better than a chimpanzee playing drums.


End file.
